Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held confirmation hearings for Trump nominees Amy Coney Barrett for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Joan Larsen for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Eric Dreiband for Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. All have records that raise concerns about how they would protect the civil rights of all Americans - including and especially LGBTQ people.

HRC has also been monitoring Barrett’s nomination to the Seventh Circuit because of her writings and speeches prioritizing faith over the rule of law. For example, in a 2013 speech, Barrett said that “the Constitution does not expressly protect a right to privacy.” This is extremely important to LGBTQ individuals because the right to privacy, established in Griswold v. Connecticut and later relied on in Roe v. Wade, helped lead the way for LGBTQ equality. During the hearing, Barrett was questioned about her 1998 law review article, Catholic Judges in Capital Cases, in which she argues that Catholic judges have a duty to prioritize faith over legal precedent. Barrett did not provide a clear answer about whether her writing indicates how she would rule from the bench.

HRC is also concerned with Larsen’s nomination to the Sixth Circuit because of her refusal, along with four other Michigan Supreme Court justices, to hear an appeal of Mabry v. Mabry, a case involving the parental rights of a non-biological parent. The refusal came after the Supreme Court of the United States in 2015 recognized marriage equality in Obergefell v. Hodges. By refusing to hear the appeal, Larsen essentially rejected the full effect of Obergefell.

Stephen Schwartz

Finally, HRC joined in an opposition letter with 27 LGBTQ groups, including Lambda Legal and the National Center for Transgender Equality, opposing Stephen Schwartz, nominated to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Like many of Trump’s other judicial and executive nominees, Schwartz has a demonstrable anti-LGBTQ record, including his work defending North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2. Moreover, he served as co-counsel to the Gloucester County (VA) School Board after it was sued by transgender student Gavin Grimm. Grimm alleged that the board violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying him use of the boy’s restroom.